Tuesday, June 29, 2010

WANTED: Honorable King


In this day and age, the person who holds information is king. And the the Internet has ordained us into rulers in our own right--on or off the Web. Everything seems possible now (or at least easier to do) since access to information has been broadened by the simple act of typing keywords.

However, what kind of rulers are we turning into?

Problems come with the abundance of information at our fingertips. First is, are we equipped to handle and optimally utilize the information we get? We might not realize it, but the information online is so diverse and overwhelming, we've barely scratched the surface. It's probably sufficient to allow us to start a business or a totally new empire, start a war, help people on the other side of the world, etc. (alternative careers, anyone?). But given the busy life we know as lawschool, most of us are probably content with using the internet for networking and entertainment (other than studying, of course).

Another problem is, how do we sift through the information we get, and determine what's really useful? Aside from the differing opinions and viewpoints, there's also information that's simply incorrect or false. And when compounded by the enormous amount of information available, we limit ourselves to what appears on the first few pages returned by our search. Never mind that the keywords we used are irrelevant or outdated.

To the discerning, patient, and responsible users of the Internet--congratulations, the world is at your beck and call. Now, whose turn is it to be the court jester?

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